1"18 THE CHINESE
supporters and some parts of it are usually accepted as sub-
stantiated.
Wang Mang stimulated the study of the Confucian canon—
even though he may have modified it. He built dormitories for
thousands of students and encouraged education. He paid marked
honors to Confucius—repairing his temple, granting him a post-
humous title, and ennobling one of his descendants. All this lie
may have done to obtain the support of the powerful Confucian
scholar class.
So complete a reorganization as that effected by Wang Mang
inevitably met serious opposition. The wealthy and the power-
ful were, of course, almost all against it. The law against the
purchase and sale of land and slaves had to be repealed at the
end of three years, although a later decree penalized slave-
owners with heavy taxes. Insurrections broke out, greatly to the
distress and perhaps somewhat to the surprise of Wang Mang.
He seems to have believed that if he could introduce proper in-
stitutions peace would reign in the world. He was puzzled when
his innovations were followed by more rather than less disorder.
Although now well along in his sixties, he continued to work long
hours in the attempt to devise new and less unsuccessful meas-
ures and gave himself almost no sleep. The members of the Liu
family, taking advantage of the general unrest, raised their stand-
ard against the usurper. Wang Mang aroused their ire still fur-
ther by destroying the Han ancestral shrines. Other malcon-
tents gathered into bands of brigands, some of whom, called the
Red Eyebrows, became very formidable. Incidentally, these Red
Eyebrows seem to have been one of those organizations which,
often secret and possessing religious features, frequently through
the centuries have had in China an important part in fomenting
and leading revolts. Subject peoples on the frontier took the op-
portunity offered by the weakness of the Empire to throw off the
Chinese yoke. Although, in the earlier years of his rule, Wang
Mang had vigorously maintained Chinese prestige in the far
Northwest, the Hsiung Nu now caused him anxiety by overrun-
ning some of the northern provinces, and Chinese outposts in the
Tarim basin had to be abandoned. In the South, what is now
Tongking refused to acknowledge his rule and many adherents
of the Han took refuge there. Rebellion led by the Lius finally